Slide-action firearm



July 12, 1949. F. L. HUMESTON SLIDE-ACTION FIREARM 5 Sheets-Sheet FiledMay 25, 1948 July 12, 1949.

Filed May 25, 1948 F. L. HUMESTON SLIDE-ACTION FIREARM S Sheets-Sheet 2July 12, 1949. F. L. HUMESTON 2,476,196

SLIDE-ACTION FIREARM Filed May 25, 1948 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 I.butshovvingtheg -pa controlmeehar 1-isr1'l-.-. n theepositions whichthey- Patented July 12, 1949 sire-o STATES H SLIDE-ACTION .;Frederick L.Humeston, 0range, .Gon n.,nassjgnor =of one-half to The HighstandardManufacfiiringflorporation, .flamdemlflonn alcb'rnor'atitm ofConnecticut, and one'half to. S ears,' .Rqbuk and "00., Chicago, 111., acorponationnf. Illinois Application May- 25, 1M8; Serial =No.'. -:28i9.89

The. present"invention relatesin. general to firearms" and more:especially to the action-locking -mechanism of that-class :of firearmsin which i. the firearms \are 'manua-lly opera-ted by means of areciprocating-slide and are, for that reason,

commonly knownas fslideeaction firearms.

-An objectofi the present invention is togprovide :a superiorfirearm=.-of the "typeureferred'to with simple,- reliable :and jefi'ective means for holding .the :manuallyeoperable vforeeend, orequivalent member of. the action-slide, :against displacement aafterithebreeohblo'ck has been: closed and prior to vthe firing:ofzthe gun soas.'t o,prevent inadvertent partial retirementof.thebreechblock and theconsequentfailure :.of' thezgun. to .properly. fire when thetrigger--ispulled.

Aiurther object;of-.:the invention is to'provide -a superior firearm.of. the. type referred to with I improved automatic means :foripreventinglpremature unlockingaof thebreechblock :after the same hasbeemlockedein its breech-closing posi- "tion: and following therelease-of the trigger.

".A: still further-objectof the'invention' is. to. provide a firearmofthe type referred to with superior means for holding the .1actioneslidemechanism 'in its forwardelocked. position.when: the breechblock :is inbreech-closing .;position;..and.foriautomaticallyunlocking-the:action-slide mechanism only upon thedischarge andasubsequent' recoil; .of the firearm. to thus-guard againstaccidents due toz-hang fires.

the above and otherobjects in: view, as

--wil1appear towthose skilled *innthe art from the present disclosure,thisinvention includes all features=in the said disclosurewhich arenovel over the prior .art.

. In the accompanying: drawings, in which. certain modes. of.oarryingnut-the present invention :are shown -for illustrative; prposes:

:Fig. 1 is awbrokenside. elevation fpartly ins-sec- .tion-of thereceiver.-portion. of thei-slideeaction firearm of this invention withthez-buttstock, barrehand .magazine :broken away: and fthe'zele- =ments-.of the =action.and.fire-control 1mechanism shown in the positionswhich:thiey assume when the breechblock is -.moved;into its \forward: lockedposition in the receiver;

-Fig.: 2is a broken side-elevatio artlyin section-of the-firearm-ofqlfig; 1-,butshowing theposi- --tion of -the-;aotion-s1ide= locking-meansafter :the hammer has been released and the. afirearm discharged;

.. actionand fili essume -.-when -,the .breechhlock is moved 3 into itsfully-opened.-ortretracted;.position;

tomplan view ot the breechblock -.perspec,tiveuview of Z-the hammer ofFig. is. a; perspective; view ;of. the-:breechblockcarriage -;showi1;1;ge 'resilientlyrmounted .pin therein (tor -offer; ely .hplding the actionslide .ioekingemember '-in ,'ope1;ative ;posi\tion vrafter the hammerhasrb'eenreleasedpbut prior to disoharge of the firearm; and

,.F ig.;10 Bra-perspective viewiofi the. action-slide docking-lever.

-'I he particular .gslicleeaction firearm herein chosen (ion(illustrating the ginvention; includes a receiver- 5;. provided-imitsright.-.handt iace with an open ngnls zsee Rig; 3) nfor ejectingspent cartridges iromtheohamber. l! oi thereceiver in i which is..(mounted the actionmechanism and ,.fireecontrolnmeohanism;pfi-thefirearm, aszihereinafter .described.

h rri ia iuatins iimechanism for ;.autom t cally etransferring: a fii'lifihifsl' lell from the tubular 'magazineg into zthe chamber ofthezharrel isof ..we1 1-.-1 nown construction; andJforvthe .sake

of; avoidin 515W amantect: confusion; of. .lines;. such flSTtO obscure.ttheielemeni saof; the: present invention, hasnotibeen shown.

.Secured: en alapproyed manner. tosthe rear --;end. of thereceivers!his;azbuttstoizkzi-B, while pro- ;J'ecting from' the-;forwfalrdeend of :.:the receiver isthe usual gun barrehl9;;helowqwhichiis mounted a ub l ma azines? Egadanted. initheusblalaman-1 ner tot suon,essivielttsieed camtrisigeszinto .the lower .01?- foreend: 2

"forwerdfindiof: thercharmherij 1;:of" the receiver .15.

The tubularmagazine glhseryes as aguide. and um r iforva lflcip wangiaictionreslide;:handle inch is.:'prefier-ab1y .formed: :fromiwoodzend slidahlmmounted. .upon -.:-the .tubular mee znesinanmsatistactoryymanner. sFa'stened to the reanendm.theicfore-iefld; 2 [is an. action- .slidejloar 32:whichzfixtends;:rearwardly into. 1 the :c'eiver sadjacent t ap rt re 5?:form chinatheznzont. Wal1..of..the .re-

heelliftehand edgeithereof. :eBeferring esneciailystdififigsc .4andr.-9? the .rear

-fi5l uenid of -t= the+a.c.tionesligieuhar 22 issprovided-with a 3substantially-square forwardly-facing shoulder 2 on its inner faceadapted to releasably engage a substantially-square rearwardly-facingoutwardly-projecting shoulder of a latch-member 26 which is pivotallysecured at its rear end opposite its shouldered end in asubstantiallyvertical recess adjacent the left-hand edge of abreechblock-carriage, indicated generally at 21, the latch-member of thelatter being held normally resiliently in position for coacting with theshoulder of the action-slide bar 22 by means of the spring andspring-plunger assembly, indicated generally at 28, and shown clearly inFig. 4. It will be appreciated, however, that by swingmg thelatch-member inwardly, its shoulder 25 may be disengaged from theshoulder 24 of the action-slide bar to disengage the latter from thebreechblock-carriage 21.

As shown especially well in Fig. 9, the carriage it comprises asubstantially-rectangular metal block having a breechblock cam-groove 29in its upper face extending transversely thereof; and aforwardly-projecting tongue 30 provided with a relatively widebreechblock guide-groove Ed in its upper face extending longitudinallythereof, the rear end of the groove 3| making a shoulder 32 with theforward end of the carriage. The rightand left-hand edges 33 and 34respectively of the carriage constitute flanges which are adapted tomake sliding engagement in longitudinal grooves 35 and 36 formed in thecorresponding walls of the chamber I! of the receiver, the groove 36 inthe left-hand Wall of the receiver being in alignment longitudinallywith the guideaperture 23 in the front wall of the receiver, so

that the action-slide bar 22 may extend through the guide-aperturerearwardly into the carriagesupporting groove 36 of the chamber ll ofthe receiver. Thus, by connecting the carriage to the action-slide bar22 by means of the aforementioned carriage latch-member 26, the carriagemay be reciprocated longitudinally in the chamber of the receiver bysliding the fore-end 21 back and forth on the tubular magazine 20.

Referring again to Fig. 9, the shoulder 32 at the rear end of thebreechblock-guide groove 3| of the carriage-tongue 30' is intersected byan aperture 31 which extends longitudinally of the tongue and rearwardlyinto the body-portion of the carriage, the longitudinal axis of theaperture making a slight angle vertically with the horizontal plane ofthe carriage. Mounted in the aperture 31 is a spring 38 andspring-seated plunger 39, the latter being adapted to slidelongitudinally in the aperture 3'! and to be held outwardly thereinnormally by the force of the compressed spring 38, a suitableretaining-pin 40 being provided, as shown especially well in Fig. 4,which intersects the aperture 3'! transversely of and in juxtapositionto a longitudinal recessed fiat 4! of the spring-seated plunger 39 andintermediate the forward and rearward shoulders of the fiat to limit thereciprocable movement of the plunger in its aperture 31. Extending fromthe rear end of the carriage in the plane of its bottom and adjacent theleft-hand edge thereof, is a rearwardly-projecting finger 42 which issubstantially rectangular in cross section, the rear end of the finger42 having a downwardly-and-forwardly-inclined bevel surface 63 for thepurpose hereinafter described. The underface or bottom of the carriageis formed centrally with a longitudinal groove 44 having a longitudinalupwardly-and-rearwardly-sloping clearance-recess 46 at its rear end, thelatter extending being adapted to engage and override a pivotal hammer47, in th manner hereinafter described. The said hammer 41 is pivotallymounted upon a pin it which extends transversely through thespaced-parallel substantially-vertical side walls ii) and 50respectively of a trigger-plate, indicated generally at 5!, adapted tobe detachably secured in a vertical aperture in the bottom of thereceiver.

Turning again to the action-mechanism of the firearm, the breechblockthereof is indicated generally at 52 and has a reciprocable firing-pin53 mounted therein with its rear end normally projecting beyond the rearend of the block so as to be struck by the aforesaid hammer 41, as willhereinafter appear. The breechblock 52 is also provided with the usualcomplementary extractors 54 which are adapted to engage the rim of acartridge and extract the same from the chamber of the barrel when thebreechblock is moved rearwardly in the chamber i! of the receiver. Asshown especially well in Figs. 6 and '7, the breechblock is provided onits underside adjacent its forward end with a relatively widelongitudinallysubstantially-rectangular shoe 55 which is adapted toslidingly engage in the groove 3! of the carriage-tongue 30 to guide thefront end of the breechblock longitudinally relative thereto.- The rearend of the shoe 55 constitutes the forward substantially-verticalrearwardlyfacing shoulder 56 of a clearance-recess 57 formed in theunderside of the breechblock at the rear end of which is provided acam-lug, indicated generally at 58, The latter consists ofrearwardly-and-upwardly-sloping front and rear cam-faces 59 and 60respectively, and a substantially-iiat horizontal bottom face 6|. Formedintegrally with the upper rear edge of the breechblock is aforwardly-and-upwardly-inclined lockhag-shoulder 62 which is adapted toengage with the forwardly-and-upwardly-sloping shoulder 63 of alocking-notch 64 formed in the top wall of the chamber I! of thereceiver for positively locking the breechblock in its forwardbreechclosing position. To this end, the cam-lug 58 of the breechblockis adapted to engage in the transverse cam-groove 29 of the carriage 27,the latter being considerably wider as measured from its transversefront and back walls 65 and 66 respectively, than the correspondingdistance between the front cam-face and rear cam-face 59 and 60respectively of the cam-lug 58, as shown especially well in Fig. 3. Inaccordance with this construction, the carriage as well as the fore-end2i detachably secured thereto by the slide-bar 22, as hereinabovedescribed, are operatively connected to the breechblock with freedom forlimited relative movement longitudinally with wardly and upwardly so asto serve as a depressing-and-retracting cam-surface adapted tocooperatively engage with the cam-face 59 of the breechblock cam-lug 58to pull the locking-shoulder 62 of the breeckblock 52 downwardly out oflocking engagement with the shoulder 63 of the receiver and thereafterto carry the breechblock rearwardly in thechamber IT, as disclosed inFig. 3. On the other hand, the back wall of the cam-groove 29 comprisesa rearwardly-and-upwardly-sloping cam-surface 66 which may be identifiedas a closing-and-lifting cam-surface and which is adapted to cooperatewith the rear cam-face 60 of the cam-lug 58, both to move the"breechblock forwardly from its rearmost posiof the eech ocxhp. in

*fi e ietel hk,..., 4 in a trigger g'uard 'l3"forinedintegrally with theor the 'slide iockin'g id c e'ql elbwftli z r ger, in themanner"described b'elbw. Moreover,

"tion a the chamber 1tthseecavegasua when the latteris elevated, asshown *in '-Figs. 1 and 2 to positively hold the lqckin .5 of thereceiver, mutt ml gagementof -the inclined fsurface ti'l and f thje'joottom ffac'e Bl of carriage "forwardly terative to the breechhlock inclosing fthe'action. W Turning e htqi neifir" e p'l ei hamen thehammer'fil is provi dedu'p 1tsii ndediower end with a trigserfah t6tad'apted to be enagecl by the forwardly ro;ecting nose 69 of'a triggerit pivotally mounted upon a transverse pin 7 adjacent the bottom or thetrigger plate,

"ig g-eropeljatingwithr la 'Pivotally conneeted toth ha rner't'l,immediately above its pivot-p thy ns ota transversepin lt, is the f; I,'d'end of ahamm erlink 15. Thrusting'ag the rear'end'f the hammer linklejisa glflaf ulfged forwardly by a hammer spring 'l il' mounted in anaperture "at in the rear w u'for the 'rfeeiv'er.

jR r g it ier j ..F. -J. I lfi p ta m unt d j he i e'se fflli e f Q1! thve t er-vi il i qen t ham s1, is a snueaog m memeer tl "which is adaptedto nestin a long iti dinal slot oi the'trigger-plate substantiallyparallel'to theh mrher' linlg 1'5, the 1 g h the? l fier tk fe me b 8!being s t et "i fer e d ea T 3 t at substantially flush with "theforward end of the triggereplate, fwhil'e its rearwardly eitending r ac.1 l

laterally ,fi bi l reach h se .les ii f b $0 st o ectt u h?'l ei i ninof the trigger-plate*andtomahe its rear extremity {85accessible-adjacenthe uhderside of th'etrigger-plate for operation manually, 'ashereinafterdescribed, the rearwardly-egtendihg reach 83 of the slide-loekinghiemberbeing resiliently held down in positionflformanpal'op 'ation bymeans of a pivoted dog 8; theforw endof which is adapted to beresilientlyheld engagementwith t upper e e l l ejis lt s m r rearwardlyof its pivot-pin l'hy means" of a heli- 3 In the rmal, pes 25 th sli a kn member 8l,-thefo1 wa' "end thereoi'is disposed substantially behind ve rearwardly extending finger 42 ortheic ari 3e21,; eiforward end of theslide-locking member 81 ha ng a beveled surface 88 correspondi'ng tofand-adapted toengage with the beveft} at thefrear' e'nd of thecarriagefinger 12 to prevent the carriage from moving rea-rwardly inftheharnherfl 1 until "such'itimeas the forward end of idelocking member isnd the carriage finfinger and the slide-locking member when the forceacting to hold the beveled ends of the two members together ismomentarily rel eased.

Referring to Fig. 10, in order to'depress "the forward. end of theslide-locking member'al, the latter is provided with a resilienttensionin'gfinger 89, the'rear end ofwhichis firmly secured in a slot inthe forward end he the slide lockin-g member. The forward reaoh'tlfifofthe tensionihgfinger ee extends forwardly of 'the "transverse pivot orthe slide-lockingmemb'er an d is spaced vertically beneath the forwardreach-82 thereof. Thus, when the slide-lockin g'member 8! isassembled inthe trigger-plate, the te'nsioning-finger $9 lies immediately beneaththe transverse pivot-pin it of the hammer. the forward reach '98 of thetensioning-link"extendingforwardly of the hammer pivot-pin. Secured tothe lower end of the hammer and projecting -lateral1y therefromimmediatelyabove thef'orward reach 90 of the tensioning-i'inger 89, is atensioning-pin "9| which is of sufilcient length to'overlieth'e'forwardreach Bil of the tensioning-finger. When the hammer is in its cockedposition, as shown in Fig. 1, the aforesaidtensioning-pinfil -'is lo-'cated a relatively shortdistanc'e verticallyfabove the torward reach'96 of the 'tensioning-firiger. However, when the hammer isr'e'leased,as shown in Fig. 2, thepin 9i will be rotat'ed in a counterclockwisedirection to engage the'forw'ard reach til of the tensioning-finger '89and exert'aforce thereon to depress the tensioning-fing'er to theposition shown in Fig. '2,th'e stiffness oft-he tensioning-finger 89being 'sufiicient normal1y, i. e.,

slide-looking member is released andthe force exerted by the pivotedspring-loaded dog tt on the rearwardly-extendingreach 83 of thes1idelocking member will elevate its beveled nd'es up into its normalposition for re en'gageinent"with the beveled end 33 of the fin ger'of'the arriage thereby to again positively "hold the "latter frommoving rearwardly in the chamber. 'In order to unlock the carriage fromits 'forwardhreechlocking position andi'nove it into. its fully-retiredposition, as shown in Fig. 3, without first requiring the discharge ofthe firearm, the shootei' 'rnay manually engage and "elevate therearwar'dlydepending end 85 of the snae-mekmgmemter thereby topositively depress the forward end'88 thereof out of engagementf withthefinger'ofthe carriage, whereupon the latter, including "the"breechblock, is free tomove re'arwardly"in the chamber.

The aforementioned force acting substantially continuously to maintainthe rear end 43 of the finger of the b-reechblock-carriage in frictionalengagement with the beveled forward end 88 of the slide-locking memberwhen the breech is in its fullyclosed position, is produced by thespringplunger 39, the forward end of which is adapted to abut againstthe rearwardly-facing shoulder 56 of the clearance-recess 51 in theunderside of the breechblock when the carriage is assembled therewith,as shown. Thus, with the rear end of the breechblock elevated intolocking engagement with the receiver, the force of the spring 38 actingon the plunger 33 is transmitted by the latter to the movable carriageso as to urge the latter rearwardly relative to the breechblock, andhence to hold the beveled end 63 of the carriage-finger resiliently inengagement with the forward beveled end 88 of the slide-locking member.

For the purpose of making clear the operation and function of theslide-action firearm herein chosen for illustration, let it be presumedthat the fore-end 21 has been manually moved to the limit of itsrearward movement with the effect of moving the breechblock andfire-control mechanism into the positions in which they are shown inFig. 3, in which positions the breechbloek is fully retired so that acartridge may be introduced into the chamber of the barrel, eitherdirectly through the opening it in the side wall of the receiver or fromthe tubular magazine 2!! by the aforementioned carrier mechanism (notshown).

If the fore-end is now moved forwardl so as to move the breechblock fromthe position in which it is shown in Fig. 3 into the position in whichit is shown in Fig. l, the forward movement of the carriage relative tothe breechblock will move the rear wall 6% of its cam-groove 29 intoengagement with the cam-face 39 of the cam-lug 58, thereby initially tocarry the breechblock forwardly in the chamber ll of the receiver andthereafter to elevate the rear end of the breechblock into lockingengagement with the locking-shoulder 63 thereof, in which position thebreechblock is positively held by engagement of the bottom face 6|thereof with the inclined fiat surface 61 of the carriage. During theforward travel of the carriage and breechblock, the upwardly-projectingforward end 82 of the slidelocking member 8! will have been held down byengagement with the underside of the carriage. However, as the carriageis moved into its foremost position in the chamber Ii, the reach 82 ofthe slide-locking member will be released, whereby its beveled end 88 isfree to swing into alignment with the beveled rear end 43 of thecarriagefinger. Since in the act of advancing and looking thebreechblock in breech-closing position, the forward draft on thefore-end 2| moves the breechblock-carriage forwardly relative to thebreechblock as provided for by the clearance of the cam-groove 29 of thecarriage, the spring 38 will be compressed by the concurrent rearwardmovement of the plunger 39. Hence, upon releasing the fore-end 2!, theforce of the compressed spring 38, acting through the spring-seatedplunger 39, will move the carriage rearwardly slightly relative to thelocked breechblock, as

shown in Figs. 1 and 2, and bring the beveled end 43 of thecarriage-finger into frictional engagement with the forward beveled end88 of the slide-locking member.

With the parts in the position shown in Fig. 1, the gun is in conditionfor firing, which may be effected in the usual manner by a rearwarddraft upon the finger-piece I2 of the trigger H1.

The rearward draft upon the finger-piece of the trigger will disengagethe trigger-nose 69 from the trigger abutment 68 of the hammer and thuspermit the force of the compressed hammer spring 19 to swing the hammerH in a counterclockwise direction, as seen in Fig. 1, and cause theupper portion of its forward face to impinge against the rear end of thefiring-pin 53. The parts will now have assumed the positions shown inFig. 2.

Moreover, as the hammer 41 is swung in a counterclockwise direction, asdescribed above, the tensiom'ng-pin 9i projecting laterally from thelower end of the hammer will move into engage ment with the forwardreach 90 of the tensioningfinger 89 of the slide-locking member 8|,thereby exerting a downwardly-directed force thereon tending to pivotthe slide-locking member in a counterclockwise direction about itspivot-pin H and to move the forward end 88 of the slide-locking memberout of engagement with the beveled end 43 of the finger of thebreechblock-carriage However, owing to the rearwardly directed forceacting continuously upon the carriage by engagement of the spring-seatedplunger 39 against the shoulder 56 of the locked breechblock, frictionalengagement of the beveled end &3 of the carriage-finger with the beveledend 88 of the slide-locking member will sufiice to prevent the forceacting downwardly on the tensioningfinger 89 from effectingcounterclockwise rotation of the slide-locking member and consequentdisengagement of the slide-locking member and carriage-finger. It willbe appreciated, moreover, that a rearward draft is being exerted uponthe action-slide bar and its associated carriage by the shooter whenholding the firearm firmly against his shoulder in position for firingand that this rearward draft upon the carriage augments the frictionalengagement between the mutually-engaging beveled surfaces of thecarriage-finger and the slide-locking member. Consequently, assumingthat the hammer has been released as described above and that theshooter is pulling rearwardly on the fore-end as is normally done inholding the firearm firmly against his shoulder, then in the event thatthe cartridge is defective or' produces a hang fire such that thecartridge does not explode to effect recoil, frictional contact of thecarriage-finger and slide-locking memher will hold the carriage 21 frommoving rearwardly. Hence, the action remains locked even though thehammer has been released to strike the firing-pin.

If, on the other hand, the cartridge fires so as to cause the gun torecoil, then owing to the fact that the fore-end 21 is slidably mountedon the tubular magazine 25!, the fore-end and its connected parts,including the action-slide bar 22 and the breech-block-carriage 21,will, due to their inertia and the restraining effect of the shootersgrip on the fore-end, not immediately partake of the rearward movementof the remainder of the firearm, but will lag behind the latter, withthe result that the slide-locking member 8i (which immediately partakesof the recoil movement) will move rearwardly relative to the carriage2'! and thereby withdraw its forward beveled end from engagement withthe beveled end of the finger of the carriage. Thereupon, theslide-locking member 81 will be immediately rotated in acounter-clockwise direction, due to the downwardly-acting force exertedon the tensioninsa in s 3 by th tensiening il Qt h hammer a here habo esc bed-$ 2 be pag 8 c e s d kin m mber Being ro new he beveled nd 43 ohe an er oi. he br echblecke carriage, as indicated in Fig, 2, so as, tQenable the e chb ckr e 3 to ma rear ardly n he hambe o he r ceiv ts;rear ardmovementis accompanied by the unloc in of the breechblock fromthe locking-reeess. of the receiver and the rearward excursion: at thebreechblock into its rearmost position therein, as, shewn n F g- 3 forthe. urp s of e ra t the fir d rt d om he chamber. t e h g as to pe mtth ntr d ction. f, a fr shca ir dge t ere..- i o e r i u ar as he c raee ft sme ed rearwardly, its inclined surfiaee 6.7; will be mevedrearwardly relative to the locked breechbleck out from beneath thebottom face 61; of; the breechblock cam lug 58, so; that the latter maybe free to move down into the cam-groove 29 of the carriage.Subsequently; the front wall 65 of the cam-groove 29 moves intoengagement with the depressing-and-retracting cam-surface 59 of thecam-lug 58 initially to pull the rear end of the breechblock downwardlypositively out of locking engagement with the locking-shoulder 63 of thereceiver and then to move the breechblock rearwardly in the receiverinto its position shown in Fig. 3.

As the breechblock moves rearwardly in the chamber I1, engagement of therear end of the breechblock with the upper end of the hammer will swingthe same in a clockwise direction against the compression force of thehammerspring 79. When the hammer is rotated into its position shown inFig. 3, its trigger-abutment 68 will be engaged by the nose 69 of thetrigger, which is urged upwardly into position for engagement with thetrigger-abutment of the hammer by a trigger-spring 92 seated in a recessin the forward end of the trigger-plate and adapted to engage theunderside of the forward end of the trigger. The hammer is thus held inits cocked position by the nose of the trigger. Moreover, in moving toits rearmost position in the chamber of the receiver, the carriage 21moves rearwardly out of engagement with the upper edge of the forwardreach 82 of the slide-locking member, as a consequence of which thelatter springs upwardly due to the force of the spring-loaded dog 86acting to swing the opposite end of the slide-locking member downwardly,as shown in Fig. 3. The parts will now have assumed the positions inwhich they are shown in Fig. 3, preparatory to another cycle ofoperations corresponding to those already described.

In the event that the gun has been cooked and the breechblock movedforwardly into breechclosing position and it should become desirable forany reason to unlock the breechblock and move it into its fully-retiredposition in the receiver, as for instance, to extract an unfiredcartridge from the chamber of the barrel, this may be accomplishedwithout releasing the hammer by exerting upward pressure on themanually-operable finger-piece 85 of the slide-locking member, wherebythe forward end 88 of the slidelocking member 8| is moved downwardlypositively out of engagement with the rear end 43 of the carriage-fingerto release the carriage, whereupon the carriage and the breechblock maybe moved rearwardly together by pulling rearwardly on the fore-end 2|.

By providing the breechblock-carriage with a finger for engaging theslide-locking member,

and. i h a s r n -leaded lun e a a ted to Q9,- ra iv l g i h. the breehhlo k; to. hold e n er oi t a ar e ricti a n a em n th th slid-iodine mem er a e a i e y omp ct and r id tructur s r v d whichoccupies a minimum of space, is free from a tendency from-lateraldeflection and permits the use of elements of high structural strength.Thus, the reliability, durability andeflicient opa o t m cha is s. sured:

The invention may be, carried 0111211 otherspeci-fic ways than thosehereinset forth without departing from the spirit and essentialcharacteristics of the invention, and the present embodiments are,thereiore, tov be considered in all respects. as illustrative and notrestrictive, and all: changes coming within the meaning and equivalencyrange of the appended claims are intended to be embraced. therein.

I claim:

I. In a slide-action firearm; the combination with a receiver; areciprocable breechblock and a swinging hammer; of a reciprocablecarriage arranged to support said breechblock, manuallyoperating meansarranged to reciprocate said carriage thereby to move said breechblockto and from breech-closing position in said receiver, locking-memberarranged normally to extend into the path of movement of said carriageso as to prevent movement thereof rearwardly in said receiver by saidmanually-operating means, actuating-means on said hammer arranged to engage said locking-member on release of said hammer to urge saidlocking-member out of the path of movement of said carriage; andresilient means supported on said carriage and arranged to cooperativelyengage said breechblock to hold said carriage in frictional engagementwith said carriage-locking member to prevent said lockingmemberfrom'being moved out of the path of movement of said carriage by saidactuatingmeans.

2. In a slide-action firearm, the combination with a receiver; areciprocable breechblock and a swinging hammer; of a reciprocablecarriage arranged to support said breechblock, manuallyoperating meansarranged to reciprocate said carriage thereby to move said breechblockto and from breech-closing position in said receiver, a locking-membercomprising an arm arranged normally to extend into the path of movementof said carriage so as to prevent movement thereof rearwardly in saidreceiver by said manuallyoperating means and a resilient link on saidarm, actuating-means on said hammer arranged to engage said resilientlink on release of said hammer to urge the said 'arm of saidlocking-member out of the path of movement of said carriage; andresilient means supported on said carriage and arranged to cooperativelyengage with said breechblock to hold said carriage in frictionalengagement with said arm of said locking-member thereby to prevent saidarm from being moved out of the path of movement of said carriage bysaid actuating-means.

3. In a slide-action firearm, the combination with a receiver; a,reciprocable breechblock and a swingin hammer; of a reciprocablecarriage arranged to support said breechblock, manuallyoperating meansarranged to reciprocate said carriage thereby to move said breechblockto and from breech-closing position in said receiver, a locking-memberarranged normally to extend into the path of movement of said carriageso as to prevent movement thereof rearwardly in said receiver by saidmanually-operating means, actuating-means on said hammer arranged toengage said locking-member on release of said hammer to urge saidlocking-member out of the path of movement of said carriage; andresilient means comprising a spring-seated plunger mounted on saidcarriage and arranged to abut a shoulder of said breechblock to holdsaid carriage in frictional engagement with said carriagelocking memberthereby to prevent said lockingmember from being moved out of the pathof movement of said carriage by said actuatingmeans.

4. In a slide-action firearm, the combination with a receiver; areciprocable breechblock and a swinging hammer; of a reciprocablecarriage arranged to support said breechblock, manuallyoperating meansarranged to reciprocate said carriage thereby to move said breechblockto and from breech-closing position in said receiver, a locking-membercomprising an arm arranged normally to extend into the path of movementof said carriage so as to prevent movement thereof rearwardly in saidreceiver by said manuallyoperating means and a resilient link on saidarm, actuating-means on said hammer arranged to engage said resilientlink on release of said hammer to urge the said arm of saidlocking-member out of the path of movement of said carriage; andresilient means comprising a spring-seated plunger mounted in saidcarriage and projecting forwardly therefrom, the forward end of saidplunger being arranged to engage a rearwardlyfacing shoulder of saidbreechblock thereby to hold said carriage in frictional engagement withthe said arm of said locking-member thereby to prevent said arm frombeing moved out of the path of movement of said carriage by saidactuating-means.

FREDERICK L. HUMESTON.

No references cited.

